An agriculture education program started by the global agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO in partnership with Strathmore University in Kenya, have enrolled their first students.  The program was initiated by two Fellows, AGCO's Nuradin Osman - a 2013 Fellow - and Martin Mbaya, a 2015 Fellow, who is a lecturer at the business school.  The agriculture program seeks to create capacity and skills in the African agriculture sector at a time when people are being asked to do more with less.

The first 20 students have been enrolled in the training initiative, the AGCO Agribusiness Qualification (AAQ). It is an accredited two-year agribusiness programme for students aged between 20 and 30 who already hold a degree. On completion of the course, successful candidates may have the opportunity to join AGCO and its partners.

The course syllabus covers areas such as agricultural mechanisation, leadership skills, business management, agricultural science, marketing and farm management.

The program is a testament to the power of networking within the Tutu Fellowship.  Mbaya said that one of their scaling goals envisions an Africa-wide learning strategy that can tap into the youth bulge. Osman said the training is part of the company’s plans to build a  competent human resource pool. It is the first training programme to focus on developing junior management for agricultural value chains.

Business Daily has more.   There is also an interview with Nuradin Osman by CNBC Africa below.